Christmas Central – The Blog

Hello, Christmas fans, and welcome once more to ChristmasWatch 2012. Winter Clearlight here, your ever faithful guide to all things Christmas in the world. Only 19 days remain now on the clock, and as the days turn colder, everyone seems more and more aware that the time is getting closer.

And as people become more and more eager, many become particularly creative. As this photo blog from the Huffington Post discusses, around the world people create the most unusual Christmas trees. From massive trees made of fiber optic lights and large decorative cones, to trees made of stuffed animals, discarded cans, and even bicycles, there are so many ways to create a Christmas tree that has no greenery, or a completely different shape than normal.

Designs for any need.

At Christmas Central, we embrace this idea as fully as anyone else. From spiral shaped and whimsically crooked trees, to cheerful candy constructions, we have so much to choose from! Would you like a cone shaped tree made out of peppermint candy? We have it. One doesn’t need to feel bored with seeing the same decorations, year in and out, when there is so much more to explore in the idea.

As it is each day, this is Winter Clearlight saying, why not try something new for your Christmas? Decorating should be about stamping your own identity on your environment, being able to create whatever style you would like to see. And that’s the way trees are.

This is CCEN, Christmas Central Elf News, welcoming one and all once again to ChristmasWatch 2012. As the season slowly creeps closer, only 20 short days away, we elves here at Christmas Central, like elves everywhere else, are working hard to get ready. At times like this, I like to think on how much I love my job. As much as all elves enjoy working on the gifts and trappings of Christmas, being one to speak directly to everyone is also a joy.

In a similar vein are those elves known as the Elf on a Shelf. As this article from WABI TV describes in excellent detail, the Elf on the Shelf is an elf who has the important job of watching children to help Santa. As he never leaves the North Pole, he needs some help confirming children’s naughtiness or niceness, and that’s where these little guys come in. By day, you may find them sitting in your house, observing children and their families, watching to see how well they keep Christmas bright. At night, they spirit away back to the North Pole to update Santa. Because of this, every day children may find them sitting or hiding in a new place in the house, fresh from the trip. But don’t touch them! It can ruin the magic inside them, which would make the trip back impossible.

And here at Christmas Central, we couldn’t be happier than to help you and your loved ones meet your own personal Shelf Elf. From ones that come with their own personal picture frame, to plush shelf sitters of every shape, and even appearing in figurine form, these elves are ready to join your family. Teach your kids the truth of a new tradition, by inviting your own personal Elf on the Shelf into your home.

“We’re waiting for you!”

As always, Winter Clearlight here, signing off. The days pass ever faster, so don’t miss your chance. And that’s the way Christmas is.

Welcome once again to CCEN, Christmas Central Elf News, where we give a bit of Christmas with every story! Winter Clearlight here, once more, to talk about the excitement surrounding ChristmasWatch 2012. We are getting ever closer, even as we speak, only 27 days left until the big one. And now, with Thanksgiving dinner done, the leftovers packed away, and the frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday well behind, it is time to really get excited. After all, we are now in the period that even the most stubborn Grinches can’t help but admit is the Christmas Season!

And at a time like this, it is always heartwarming to see people working hard to give something back to those who give  so much. As the Seattle PI tells, more than 20 tree farms participated in a program to provide soldiers with Christmas trees. Over 7 years, this program has managed to bring over 103,000 free trees to soldiers both stateside and overseas. To them and their families, these represent a Christmas gift that symbolizes the holiday itself.

And if you have a special person in the military, or just want to show your support to the troops, we have plenty of options to choose from! From Army to Navy, Air Force to Marines, we have items for any occasion. Ornaments, stockings, even representative nutcrackers, all are available. Give the gift of tribute this year, we suggest.

Even Santa agrees and shows his pride

Winter Clearlight here, saying to remember that which is important to us, and to celebrate what those people make possible. ChristmasWatch 2012 will only continue to get more exciting, so keep an eye out. CCEN, out. And that’s the way Christmas is.

Welcome, once more, to ChristmasWatch 2012. Winter Clearlight here, bringing you the news and facts about the Christmas season that YOU need. We’re coming up on the one month mark, 31 left. So now, one month from Christmas Eve itself, we here at CCEN think it would be a good time to tell you a bit more about something that we described yesterday. And that, of course, is the upcoming week beginning, Cyber Monday.

As noted briefly before, Cyber Monday is a recent concept. It was first coined as an idea in 2005, by the website Shop.org, as seen here. Noting at the time a trend for online shopping to spike, they gave it a name. Described at the time as the 12th biggest shopping day of the year, it was attributed to the fact that at the time, people had the most access to computers at work. Because of that, upon returning to their work stations the day after Thanksgiving weekend, perhaps inspired by window shopping the days before, people would use their access to do a significant amount of online shopping. Since that beginning, the day has only rapidly grown, with both awareness of the idea, and general availability of and improvements upon online shopping driving it. The numbers show that it has, in the last 6 years, more than doubled in the amount of shopping done on this day.

And we here at Christmas Central couldn’t be happier! Even as our Black Friday deals linger until the end of the weekend, we, as an online store, are getting ready to unveil a whole new set of deals and opportunities for the day most close to our own heart. All the elves around are prepared, ready for the flood of excited customers wishing to see what they can find with us. Watch this space and our site for the specific deals, to be announced soon. Sometimes, as we get closer to the season, even we here at CCEN feel like, well like:

This is Winter Clearlight, signing off, saying “See you on Monday!”

Winter Clearlight here, again, to officially welcome you, once more, to ChristmasWatch 2012! With Thanksgiving having passed us by, we are down to 32 remaining days, and the excitement is starting to build more than ever. Without a doubt, every person here has, at least once, been exposed to that most obvious of Christmastime symptoms, the music.

Christmas music: Beloved holiday staple, or incessant maddening repetition? And why is it people seem committed to choosing one of those two options over any other? An article on NBC.com offers some possible reasons. As noted by a University of London Ph.D, within the article, many people fall victim to an effect caused by constant repetition. It notes that people listening to a song they enjoy continue to gain more enjoyment out of it over repeated listenings, up to a point, at which point, their interest falls through entirely. Exhaustion follows.

On the other hand, there is a magnifying effect on whatever mood the season brings out in people. People who worry about the holidays, and end up with a lot of stress related to them, have a more negative reaction since the music reminds them of all those worries. On the other hand, people relaxed and focused on the happy part of the holidays react positively to the music, whether through thoughts of the past, or of what is to come yet.

And of course, if you think you might be one of the latter types, who never gets tired of the music, we here at Christmas Central have some great options for you. First, we’ve got many lovely strings of lights, all shapes and sizes, that blink and play music whenever you like, the lights keeping time with the sound. String them along your tree, or in the hallway, or any place that you’d like a bit of music.

And if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, we always have the Mr. Christmas Light and Motion Shows. With a bit of work, and some normal light strings, these devices can turn your entire house front into a synchronized light show to play along with the music included! Just plug in your various light strings into the devices, select your mode, and enjoy the multitude of songs and shows that it will give you. Stage your own shows for the entire neighborhood with these devices, and give your decorations a tone that no normal light set up could imitate.

Counting down with all of you, this is Winter Clearlight. 32 to go, lets hope it doesn’t go slow. And that’s the way Christmas is.

A happy post-Thanksgiving weekend to all of you from us here at CCEN and Christmas  Central. As always, this is Winter Clearlight, wishing you “Welcome” to Black Friday and the official start of the shopping season. I have no doubt that plenty of you are already out and shopping, and I hope that the crowds and the frenetic pace doesn’t get you down.

Here at our store, of course, we have much to offer. Our Black Friday deals offer discounts on a wide variety of goods. From trees to ornaments, garlands to nutcrackers, if its in the list, you can save on it. And, of course, this is in addition to our already dropped and discounted prices across the entire site.

So don’t be afraid to stay in and find something all your own on this site.

But even more important, we must not forget what is yet to come. After all, CCEN and the company we work for, are a primarily online entity. Christmas Central is a website, and that means that there is a day even bigger for us than Black Friday. And that is Cyber Monday. A new concept only a few years old, it was coined as an idea that people would shop online Monday after returning to work and their computers therein. But now, with computers and mobile devices available to all, Cyber Monday is bigger than ever. We have a new host of deals ready to be shown when the day arrives, so be ready, one and all, for great deals without having to even leave your house. This is Winter Clearlight, and thats the way Christmas Central is.

Hi, Winter Clearlight here. I was getting ready to tell the latest news about Christmas. After all, everyone is thinking of nothing else, eager to get to the most loved of all holidays. But a sudden visitor at our building gave me a completely different perspective on things.

Affectionately nicknamed Chris by the other elves here, this feathered friend warns that even in the midst of the holiday cheer, it isn’t kind to ignore what comes. To wit, Thanksgiving.

Some fear that the traditional November holiday is slowly being consumed by the more popular, more anticipated December one. In fact, some people, like this article from OPB.com, worry that Thanksgiving is being erased. They fear that the push to start Christmas early, to celebrate it as soon as possible, is leading to a slowly creeping back start date, that is making other holidays less important.

Now obviously, the other elves here at the station and I don’t have any worries about more Christmas, but I thought that maybe, just for a moment, it might be nice to stop and talk about a holiday that might worry, like our turkey friend, that it is being forgotten.

Its a bit late, of course, to buy Thanksgiving items for this year, but why not take a look anyways, and see if perhaps you can find that wonderful last fall item to celebrate the last weeks before winter, or perhaps plan for next year’s harvest festival? But of course, while taking time for the plump and festive bird, don’t forget to check out some more Christmas-y birds.

Wishing you joy in every holiday, this is Winter Clearlight. ChristmasWatch 2012 is down to 35 days, and everyone, elf and bird alike, can’t wait. And that’s the way the holidays are.

CCEN Evening news. Welcome back. Once again, I am Winter Clearlight, and we are continuing right along with Christmas Watch 2012.We’re steaming along at 36 days remaining, but a lot of us had a bit of a scare! We looked at our calenders, and suddenly it seemed like Christmas, or possibly the entire month, was just gone!

Not everyone got to see this one, though. It only appeared in very specific updates of Google’s Android phone systems, as reported by CNN.com. The Internet giant’s most recent update to some of its phones accidentally made the month of December disappear from the calender functions, leading many people to ask aloud, to Google and many other sites, if Christmas had simply up and vanished! Perhaps Dr. Seuss’s Grinch has had the last laugh after all?

Naturally, people were joking, but if you find yourself uncertain of the date, or needing something to help you do your own counting down of the days to Christmas, why not take a look at our Advent Calenders? Count down the last four weeks of Christmas in style! Everything from musical calenders to magnetic books, and beautifully crafted wooden pieces, Christmas Central has everything that you could ever want to enhance your waiting anticipation as December rolls around!

So from all of us here at CCEN, I wish you good luck, and watch out for missing time! This is Winter Clearlight, and that’s the way Christmas is. 36 to go.

Hello, and welcome, once again, to CCEN’s Christmas Watch 2012. I’m Winter Clearlight, your elf eye on events. As the days tick down to 39 left, around the world people get ready for that most joyous time of the year to come once more.

Across the globe, as so ably reported in the Huffington Post, the tradition of Christmas Markets, or as known in their country of origin Germany Christkindlmarkts, are being put up as we speak. These ancient street markets traditionally are put together to celebrate the Advent weeks, beginning on Sunday, December 2 this year. What could be be described as a mix between a decorative display, a street market, and a carnival is put together for the four weeks before Christmas, a tradition that has stretched back to as early as the 13th Century. The Post put together a slideshow of its favorite worldwide markets, but there are so many more and everyone cannot help but wait to see them arrive.

And speaking of traditions and Germany, here at Christmas Central the elves have so many wonderful items that could be considered just the same. The famous Pickle in a Jar tradition, of children looking for that hidden pickle hung among the ornaments, lives again in our stores. Legend says the first to find the hidden ornament will have luck for the year.

Just as worthwhile for any collection are the many objects of art of the Steinbach Collection. Handcrafted by the Steinbach family since 1832 in Germany, these painstakingly made works of arts, nutcrackers, speak to a time of careful and precise handiwork, unparalleled in quality. When you buy one, you know that you now own a piece of history that took up to years of careful wood working to put together.

Things are really starting to heat up here in the Central, as well as across the country and overseas. Winter Clearlight, signing off. And that’s the way Christmas is.

Welcome to Christmas Central Elf News. This is Winter Clearlight, and I would like to welcome you to the first day of Christmas Watch 2012. Watch this space as I, your personal Elf Anchor, walk you through current events as people all over the country get ready for the upcoming holiday. Christmas Central also cannot wait for the season, and will be providing each of you with the stories and the deals that affect YOU.

The Lubbock Avalance-Journal reports that the Christmas tree headed for our nation’s capital stopped in Amarillo, Texas, for a temporary display. The 73 foot, 74 year old tree, which will be displayed on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol building, was up for two hours, with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and a pair of elves in attendance for the festivities. With this signal for the start of the holiday season, isn’t it time to consider your own Christmas Tree options? With everything from the smallest, 1-foot tall decoration to 40-foot towering displays, these trees fit every home, every open space, every style and decorative need that you could imagine.

In sadder tree related stories, a major tree farm in Maryland lost a lot of its product to Hurricane Sandy, WILX.com reports. With the massive trees destroyed by the tragic storm, the owner has had to refund many of the orders, up to 70 percent of his sales. But, even such an event cannot dampen the Christmas Spirit. So, looking for a huge tree for your decoration? Why not take a look here? Our massive commercial sized trees are ready and waiting for you. The 80 ft. Rockefeller Center tree will be decorated with more than 30,000 lights, and why should ours be any different?

With just 40 days to go, the Christmas Watch can only heat up from here on out. Winter Clearlight, that’s the way Christmas is.